Congressmen back health care law delayLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas’ four congressmen have voted for proposals to delay implementing two key parts of the federal health care law. Republican Reps. Tom Cotton, Rick Crawford, Tim Griffin and Steve Womack on Wednesday voted for proposals that would delay the implementation of the employer and individual mandates of the federal health care law. Griffin had introduced the bill on the employer mandate, which codified the Obama administrati...

Fort Smith police arrest 2 in counterfeiting case FORT SMITH (AP) — Fort Smith police have arrested two Oklahoma residents suspected of being behind some recent counterfeiting. Officials said Wednesday that the suspects are each charged with forgery. The fake bills were spread at Walmart and a Big Lots stores last week. A police report says at least $650 in phony currency was passed at the retailers. Police said the suspects, Andre Lamont Williams and Marie Lashonda Biglow, are both Tulsa res...

White House drug policy adviser plans talk LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The nation’s drug policy adviser to the White House is to address an Arkansas forum on prescription drug abuse. Drug czar R. Gil Kerlikowske is to speak Thursday at the summit in Little Rock. During the spring, Kerlikowske announced a change in focus to the nation’s way of addressing persistent drug addiction problems. Instead of continuing to focus on solutions through law enforcement, Kerlikowske’s office is seeking a $1.4...

Hope Walmart evacuated after ammonia leak HOPE (AP) — A Walmart in Hope was evacuated overnight after a tank truck hauling ammonia sprung a leak in the store parking lot. Hope Assistant Police Chief Kim Tomlin says the store reopened about 11:15 a.m. Wednesday. No one was hurt. Tomlin says officials were summoned just before 10 p.m. Tuesday. A crew had to transfer the ammonia from the parked tanker to another truck. She said the tank, owned by Radnor, Pa.-based Airgas Inc., was condem...

Harrison man named t0 Game and Fish panel LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Gov. Mike Beebe has named a Harrison businessman as the newest member of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. On Wednesday, Beebe announced the appointment of Ken Reeves to the seven-member panel that oversees the state’s hunting and fishing regulations. Reeves is a vice president and general counsel for FedEx Freight in Harrison. He replaces outgoing commissioner Ronald Pierce of Mountain Home. Beebe says Reeves is an avi...

Judge deciding on change of venue in Despain case JONESBORO (AP) — A circuit judge is considering a defense request to move the trial of a Jonesboro woman accused of the for-hire murder of her husband. Prosecutors say the decision could come Wednesday on whether to seek a jury from outside Craighead County. The Jonesboro Sun reported that Circuit Judge Victor Hill closed a hearing to the public on Monday while the sides discussed sensitive evidence. Michelle Despain is charged with capital mu...

Little Rock Police: Stopped vehicle wasn’t stolen LITTLE ROCK (AP) — An SUV driven by a man who was fatally shot by Little Rock police wasn’t stolen, although officers initially thought that may have been the case, authorities said Tuesday. Police have said officers believed an SUV that Deon Williams was driving on Monday matched the description of a stolen vehicle. Williams, 26, allegedly fled from police and produced a gun before an officer shot and killed him. “The officers didn’t realize ...

Police: Custody dispute an issue in slayings MURFREESBORO (AP) — A Pike County man suspected in the slayings of three family members told investigators he meant to shoot his mother-in-law but the deaths of his estranged wife and a 9-year-old niece were accidents, authorities say. Investigators said at a Monday hearing that Timothy Hill, 43, of Delight, told officers that he was worried about losing custody of his two sons and thought his mother-in-law tried to turn the boys against him. ...

Cotton raises $611K over past 3 months LITTLE ROCK (AP) — U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton’s campaign says he’s raised $611,341 over the past three months as he prepares for a re-election bid or a potential Senate run. Cotton’s campaign said the freshman Republican congressman from Arkansas has $1.04 million cash on hand. Cotton represents the 4th Congressional District in south and west Arkansas, and was first elected last year. Cotton, of Dardanelle, is viewed as a potential challenger to De...

Marine from Gentry dies in military hospital LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The US Department of Defense says a Marine from Gentry has died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The department said in a news release Tuesday that Lance Cpl. Benjamin Tuttle, 19, died Sunday at the military hospital where he was taken following a medical evacuation from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. A cause of death was not release and the defense department says the death is still under investigation. Tu...

Counterfeit money shows up in Fort Smith FORT SMITH (AP) — Several hundred dollars in phony currency has been circulating in Fort Smith. Police say two stores run by Walmart and a Big Lots store reported Friday that a number of counterfeit bills had turned up in their cash registers. Employees of one store told police that the suspects left in a dark colored Chrysler 300 with Oklahoma license tags. The fakes were in denominations of $20 and $5. The Southwest Times Record reported inv...

Baptist Health to lay off 170 across company LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Baptist Health says it will lay off 170 workers across its network in Arkansas. The hospital organization said Tuesday the layoffs will mainly affect workers who aren’t nurses. Arkansas Business reported the job cuts are expected to be completed by the end of the week. Baptist Health has 73,000 workers and hospitals in Little Rock, North Little Rock, Arkadelphia, Heber Springs and Stuttgart. Spokesman Mark Lowman says the cu...

Talk with child leads to marijuana patch JONESBORO (AP) — Two Craighead County sheriff’s deputies keeping an eye on a marijuana patch got some inadvertent help from the suspect’s son. The sheriff’s office says that a man and his 4-year-old son rode up on an ATV as deputies watched the area on Friday. The Jonesboro Sun reported one deputy questioned the father while the other waited with the boy, who was still on the ATV. Deputies say the boy volunteered that he and his father were th...

Man accused in deaths of 2 women shows in court LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A man accused of killing two women in Little Rock and trying to cover the crimes as fire deaths is being held on a half-million dollars bond. Prosecutors allege that 27-year-old Anthony Lezoro Brooks killed 50-year-old Gloria Summage and 31-year-old Amy May Hughett last month. Brooks was already in jail last week for threatening his mother when he was allegedly linked to the killings. Police say Brooks say Summage was killed...

Guns, drugs and moonshine seized in Stone Co. MOUNTAIN VIEW (AP) — Authorities in Stone County arrested two people and seized drugs, guns and moonshine in a recent raid. The Stone County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that deputies were tipped about an operation where people were allegedly growing marijuana and making moonshine. Several agencies combined to serve a search warrant at a property near Oxley. Authorities found marijuana growing inside and outside the home. Also found at the hou...

Cotton acreage at longtime lowHARRISBURG (AP) — Cotton acreage is down sharply this year in Arkansas. Agriculture officials estimate that 320,000 acres of cotton have been planted in Arkansas this year. That’s only about half as much cotton as growers planted in 2012. Jonesboro television station KAIT reported farmers pulled back on cotton because of thin profit margins. Producers risk losing money if the weather takes a bad turn or if pests are abundant. Also, the crop is...

Husband, wife found dead, murder-suicide suspected TAYLOR (AP) — Lafayette County authorities said a husband and his wife were found dead in what investigators believe is a murder-suicide in southwestern Arkansas. Sheriff Victor Rose told the Texarkana Gazette the bodies of Steve Duck, 55, and Tonuia Duck, 51, of Taylor were found Thursday in rural Lafayette County. Rose said investigators believe Steve Duck killed his wife then himself. Rose said the two were in the process of divorcing but t...

Ex-lottery official admits stealing tickets LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A former Arkansas Lottery security official pleaded guilty Friday to a long-running scheme in which he’s accused of stealing and cashing nearly a half-million dollars’ worth of scratch-off tickets. Lottery Director Bishop Woosley said the theft by Remmele Mazyck, 34, started in 2009 when the lottery launched. It wasn’t discovered until October 2012, when a clerk at a Jonesboro retailer raised questions about lottery tickets ...

Medicaid program has $62 million in trustLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Medicaid program was expected to endure a year of cuts to services but wound up with $62 million in its trust fund, which officials on Friday attributed to changes being made by providers to adapt to health care overhaul measures. The $4.68 billion program faced a possible shortfall of more than $100 million, which would have led to cuts in payments for nursing home care and in other areas. But Department of Hum...

AG rejects wording of gay marriage repealLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas’ attorney general rejected a proposal Friday to repeal the state constitution’s ban on gay marriage, saying the ballot measure’s wording could mislead voters into believing it would automatically legalize same-sex unions. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel told Arkansans for Equality, which wants to put the measure on the ballot for the general election in 2014, that it needs to rework the wording. The proposal must b...